Daniel Piatkowski, Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Planning at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, publishes his inaugural book chapter as a CRP faculty member. Piatkowski's co-authored chapter "Advancing discussions of cycling interventions based on social justice" is the sixth chapter in Bicycle Justice and Urban Transportation published by Routledge.
Piatkowski's chapter is about laying a groundwork for deciding if and when investing in bicycle infrastructure can forward social justice goals in a city's transportation system.
Piatkowski and co-authors articulate how often times decisions to implement interventions to promote cycling are done without really examining or thinking about how these changes are realized differently across various populations and geographies and how the importance of one person being able to cycle, weighs against the sacrifices it requires from another. Piakowski's piece encourages those who promote cycling to challenge and rethink assumptions about the cycling culture, the neighborhood transformation and the planning processes. The authors suggest justifications for advancing efforts should be examined closely as part of the planning process.
"Simply promoting cycling across the board for reasons of health, environment or 'choice' often leads to misplaced priorities that do little to address the plight of population groups who are often neglected in transportation planning and could best benefit from more bicycle-friendly neighborhoods and cities." (Chapter 6)
The chapter was co-authored with Karel Martens (lead author), Kevin J. Krizek and Kara Luckey.
Piatkowski has done extensive research with transportation, particularly focusing on how land use and transportation planning can foster equitable and sustainable communities. He is principally interested in analyzing the effects and community transformations related to walking and bicycling planning. His research has been featured on National Public Radio, the Washington Post, the Atlantic and CityLab's "Future of Transportation" series. Piatkowski's work has been published in numerous places including seven peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at 17 national conferences.
Piatkowski explains, his career in community planning didn't lead him to cycling transportation research but his passion for cycling led him toward a career in planning. One might say, it's all about choosing the right path.
At UNL, Piatkowski teaches land use and transportation, urban design and research methods.
